In This Issue
Remember to bring some floral cheer to the nation on #floralfriday tomorrow - Good Friday
FREE E-commerce Web Site for Garden Centres
The HTA launches ‘Plants Near Me’
Helping hands to combat coronavirus
Greenfingers Charity and friends bring a little social media cheer on #floralfriday - How will you join in on Good Friday?
Johnsons of Boston Food Hall open today despite major fire in garden centre yesterday
Horticulture hits the national and local headlines
Florainbow and Floral message of Hope
For sale - A long Established Garden Centre Business
Garden Centre Opportunities..from around the world
Bheta intervenes as big retailers threaten suppliers with extended trading terms
GTN Xtra - Send to all
Lofa members seek help with container charges at ports
Hillier announces five new plants for 2020
Gardening is deemed ‘critically important’ to physical and mental health during #stayathome
GTN Bestsellers Garden Re-Leaf Subscription Offer
LifestyleGarden® vow to support retailers during lockdown
Petindex postponed until 2021
More companies, including one from China, sign up for PATS Telford
Vitax donation helps rehabilitate lives of servicemen and women through horticulture
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Fiskars Wins Prestigious ‘Best Buy’ Award
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results show milder winter helps small garden birds
Garden Radio charges on hold
David Domoney takes on role of Patron for Greenfingers Charity
Growing Media Europe welcomes four new members
The best of last week's
Exeter garden centre stays open but cannot sell plants - Cherry Lane close all centres
Calling all businesses in garden retailing to sign HTA/RHS/NFU petition
Horticultural Sector Worth £1.4 Billion Could Be Wiped Out By Coronavirus Shut Down In Just Weeks
Glee at home
40th Annual GIMA Awards Cancelled
Garden Centre Photo Tours
Haskins Snowhill re-opens after £15m re-vamp
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
Send us your news and great ideas

Contact us with your news. 

Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700


Lofa members seek help with container charges at ports
 

Lofa have been lobbying MP's to get something done quickly to reduce or defer container storage costs at ports from Shipping Lines.

 

The letter Lofa's Marketing manager Gina Hinde has been sending to MP's is below and garden centres can help by also sending a copy to their MP and by accepting their container deliveries thereby alleviating the situation as outlined in the letter.

 

Lofa letter to MP's:

 

I am writing on behalf of the Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association (LOFA).

 

We are an association of 70 companies that all manufacture garden furniture, barbecues and accessories for the outdoor leisure industry.

 

The Corona Virus has caused uncertainty and looming financial crisis on our industry.

 

The majority of the industry manufactures products in the far east and imports them into the UK. The business is seasonal and we are now about to hit our main selling season April through to July.

 

Our LOFA members place orders on the far east factories in September/October for delivery into the UK, to meet the demand of the selling season in January/February the following year. However, this year the COVID19 outbreak in China in January caused the factories to close down therefore stopping the production and shipments of products to the UK to arrive in time for the season.

 

China have now resumed production and shipping, therefore the products that should have been in our stores in February/March are now being shipped across to the UK via containers into Felixstowe or Southampton ports. Ordinarily these containers would hit the ports and then go direct to stores, however due to the Corona Virus non-essential businesses have been advised to close therefore leaving our members with containers at ports incurring demurrage and detention charges.

 

 

DEMURRAGE

DETENTION

1 x 20ft Container

1 x 40ft container

1 x 20ft Container

1 x 40ft container

Days 1-7 = Free

Days 1 - 7 = free 

Days 1- 2 = Free

Days 1- 2 = Free

Days 8-14  =£30 per day

Days 8 - 14 = £48 per day 

Days 3-15 = £20.00

Days 3-15 = £25.00

Days 15 - 21 =£50 per day 

Days 15 - 21 = £80 per day 

Day 16 Onwards = £25.00

Day 16 Onwards = £50.00

Days 22 onwards = £70 per day 

Days 22 onwards = £112 per day 

 

 

 

6 weeks lockdown costs

 

 

 

£2030

£3248

£935

£1675

10 containers = £20300

£32480

£9350

£16750

20 containers = £40600

£64960

£18700

£33500

50 containers = £101500

£162400

£46750

£83750

*Approximate costs to our members per day if these goods cannot be delivered into stores

**All shipping line prices differ

*** E.G. Approx., total cost of 10 x 40’ containers sat at port for 6 weeks lockdown = £49230.00

 

Ports can only hold containers for a finite amount of time because they only have a certain amount of space. Space is becoming a premium because many manufacturers are having to hold the delivery of goods that cannot be delivered into stores due to enforced closures.

 

These charges will have catastrophic implications for our members, the supply chain and the industry as a whole and we would urge you to step in and speak to the ports and shipping lines to relax, defer or halt these charges for a minimum of three months so that the industry can work together and find a solution to this mounting problem.

 

Many of our LOFA members who have been trading for many years will find themselves having to close their businesses if something is not done and done quickly to reduce or defer these costs from Shipping Lines. There is also talk of a predicted rise in these rates due to availability and market pressure.  This will only compound the issue and cause more financial difficulties.

 

It is through no fault of their own that this situation has been thrust upon them and they cannot sustain these large demurrage and detention costs during this period of lockdown.

 

I would urge you to consider this situation seriously and the impact it will have on the supply chain in the UK and the effect it will have on the outdoor leisure industry as a whole and to take measures to help the many companies that this will effect before it is too late.

 

 

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